Suntanning mat

ABSTRACT

A suntanning mat consisting of two rectangularly shaped pads positioned end to end and releasably interconnected along adjacent ends for relative hinging movement. At least one face of the mat is covered with a highly reflective material. The two pads each consist of two longitudinally extending side wings hingedly connected to a center section.

United States Patent 1 1 Wilson 51 Sept. 2, 1975 SUNTANNING MAT [75] Inventor: William Wilson, Southgate, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Tan-A-Matic Co., Lincoln Park,

Mich.

[22] Filed: Feb. 20, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 444,110

[52] US. Cl. 297/185; 297/219; 297/231; 5/344 [51] Int. Cl. A47C 7/62 [58] Field of Search 297/228, 229, 217, 219, 297/180, 185, 350, 351, 230, 231, 380-382,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 146,888 1/1874 Downing 297/363 2,244,605 6/1941 Benoit 297/381 2,675,807 4/1954 Purscl 5/344 X 2,734,556 2/1956 Hebrank 297/219 X 2,738,834 3/1956 Jaffc 5/344 X 3,028,201 4/1962 Heckethom... 297/231 X 3,078,101 2/1963 Reese 297/228 X 3,170,172 2/1965 Kcssman. 5/344 X 3,519,307 7/1970 Gittings 297/351 X Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Barnes, Kisselle, Raisch & Choate [5 7 ABSTRACT A suntanning mat consisting of two rectangularly shaped pads positioned end to end and releasably interconnected along adjacent ends for relative hinging movement. At least one face of the mat is covered with a highly reflective material. The two pads each consist of two longitudinally extending side wings hingedly connected to a center section.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SUNTANNING MAT This invention relates to a suntanning mat, and, more particularly, to a reflective mat of the padded type which is especially adapted to be used on an outdoor type chaise lounge to enable a person reclining thereon to tan both the upwardly facing portions and the sides of his body simultaneously.

One object of the invention resides in the provision of a suntanning mat of the type described which, while in use, is sufficiently large to tan a persons entire body, but which can be folded to a relatively small compact size for storage and carrying purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mat of the type described which is constructed to fit nicely on and between the armrests of a conventional outdoor type chaise lounge.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suntanning mat which can be used with or without a chaise lounge for suntanning purposes or simply as a nonsuntanning reclining pad.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the suntanning mat of the present invention arranged on an outdoor type chaise lounge;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the two pads which comprise the mat laid out in a flat condition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the mat with its two side wings folded over onto the center section and releasably interconnected;

FIG. 4 illustrates one type of snap fastener that may be employed for releasably connecting the pads or side wings together; and

FIG. 5 shows the mat folded to a compact size for carrying or storage.

The mat of the present invention consists of two pads and 12 which are releasably connected together as described hereinafter. Pad I0 is shorter than pad 12 and consists of a center section 14 and two side wings 16a and 16h. Pad 12 likewise consists of a center section 18 and two side wings 20a and 20h. Side Wings 16 and 20 are all of the same width and center sections 14 and 18 have a width approximately twice that of the side wings l6 and 20. This is best illustrated in FIG. 2 where the pads are shown laid out in the flat in unconnected relation.

The adjacent edges 22, 24 of center sections l4, 18, respectively, are provided with snap fasteners (which may be of the type illustrated in FIG. 4) for releasably connecting the two pads together so that the pads can be used individually or in connected relation. Thus, edge 24 of section 18 is provided with male fasteners 26 the studs of which project upwardly; and edge 22 of section 14 is provided with correspondingly spaced female fasteners 28, the sockets of which open downwardly as viewed in FIG. 2. When the mat is laid out flat the adjacent ends of side Wings 16, 20 are free and not connected to each other. However, side wings 16, 20 are hingedly connected as by seams 30 to the center sections I4, 18.

Each pad comprises an inner cushion 32 overlaid on opposite sides thereof by a fabric backed plastic panel. The lower or bottom panel is designated 34 and the top or upper panel is designated 36. Panel 36 preferably comprises a flexible sheet of Mylar and plastic laminate or other suitable plastic material which is vacuum metallized on the outer surface thereof over which is applied a protective coating, such as a vinyl coating. The exposed face of panel 36 is therefore highly light reflective. The exposed face of panel 34 is comprised of a suitably colored durable plastic material which, unlike panel 36, is non-light reflective.

The laterally outer edge 38 of side wing 20a is provided adjacent one end thereof with a plurality of spaced male fasteners 40, the studs of which project upwardly. The laterally outer edge 42 of side wing 20b is provided with correspondingly located female fasteners 44, the sockets of which project downwardly. Adjacent the other end of side wings 20a and 20b the laterally outer edges 38, 42 are provided with similar fasteners 40, 44. The laterally outer edge 46 of side wing 16a is provided adjacent opposite ends thereof with female snap fasteners 48, the sockets of which face downwardly and the laterally outer edge 50 of side wing 16b is provided with correspondingly placed male fasteners 52, the studs of which face upwardly.

With the above described arrangement of snap fasteners along the outer edges of the two pads the side wings can be folded inwardly and snapped together in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, side wings 16a and 20!; can be first folded inwardly so that the sockets of the snap fasteners thereon face upwardly. Thereafter side wings 16b and 20a can be folded inwardly to overlie the center sections of the respective pads and to overlap the edges of side wings 16a and 20b. Thereafter snap fasteners 52 can be interengaged with fasteners 48 and fasteners 40 can be interengaged with fasteners 44. In the condition of the mat shown in FIG. 3 the reflective surfaces 36 thereof are disposed on the inner surfaces of the folded mat and in this position the mat can be used simply for the purposes of reclining. Likewise, when the mat is collapsed as illustrated in FIG. 3, pad 10 can be further folded along the line of connection between fasteners 26, 28 so that the mat as a whole is of a very compact size in length, width and thickness.

It will be observed that pad 10 is substantially shorter than pad 12. Pad 10 has a length of approximately 36 inches and pad 12 has a length of approximately 45 inches. The two pads are intentionally dimensioned of different lengths so as to interfit readily with a conventional outdoor type chaise lounge which is generally illustrated in FIG. 1. Lounge 54 includes a seat 56, a backrest 58 and armrests 60. Pad 10 is dimensioned in length to correspond generally with the height of the backrest 58, and pad 12 is dimensioned in length and width to correspond generally with the length and width of seat 56. This enables the mat to be arranged on a chaise lounge in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein the hinged connection between center sections l4, 18 of the two pads is generally juxtaposed to the junction between backrest 58 and seat 56.

When the mat is arranged in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, since the two center sections l4, l8 lie in planes which are inclined relative to one another, it is obvious that the adjacent ends of side Wings 16, 20 are in overlapped relation. The extent of the overlap varies with the relative inclination between the two center sections l4, 18. The desired degree of inclination can be maintained by simply securing snap fasteners 48, 52 with selected ones of snap fasteners 40, 44, respectively. In view of the particular arrangement of these snap fasteners, it follows that in order to interengage them in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1 side wing 20a overlaps the under side of side wing 16a and side wing 20b overlaps the inner side of side wing 16b. With the mat arranged in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1 it will be appreciated that a person reclining on the lounge will be subjected not only to the direct rays of the sun but also the sun rays reflected by the angularly disposed side Wings 16, 20. Thus, the mat of this invention enables a person to tan himself simultaneously on both the upwardly facing portion as well as the side portions of his body. By reason of the fact that the side wings 16, 20 are connected together in overlapped condition, when the mat is arranged as shown in FIG. 1 the side wings 16, 20, although they are readily flexible, are retained in a more or less inclined position relative to the center sections 14, 18. Thus, the sun rays impinging upon these side wings will be reflected towards the sides of a person reclining on the lounge.

It will be appreciated that the snap fasteners shown and described are merely illustrative of the general type of releasable fasteners which may be employed. Various other types of releasable fasteners may be utilized, including friction type fastening means of the Velcro type.

1 claim:

1. A suntanning mat adapted for use with a chaise lounge comprising, two readily flexible pads of the same width and of generally rectangular shape arranged end to end and hingedly interconnected along their adjacent edges, the two pads being of different lengths so that they correspond generally with the respective lengths of the backrest and seat portion of an outdoor type chaise lounge, each pad comprising an inner cushion overlaid with outer panels on the opposite faces thereof, one of the outer panels comprising a highly reflextive flexible sheet material, each pad being divided longitudinally into a center section and two side wings hingedly connected to the longitudinal edges of the center section, the two side wings of each pad having a width corresponding generally to one-half the width of the center section so that each side'wing can be folded inwardly to overlie said center section and the two pads folded at their hinged connection to thereby form a compact unit having a width equivalent to generally one-half of the width of said pads, a thickness corresponding generally to four times the thickness of a pad and a length corresponding to the length of the longer of said two pads, the adjacent ends of the two side wings of each pad being normally unconnected to each other so that, when the mat is arranged on a chaise lounge provided with armrests with the reflective surfaces of the pads facing upwardly, one of the pads can be arranged to overlie the seat portion of the lounge and the other the inclined backrest with the two side wings of each pad being folded upwardly relative to the center sections thereof with their adjacent ends in overlapping relation between the armrests of the lounge whereby a person reclining on the lounge is subjected to the direct rays of the sun as well as the sun rays reflected from the reflective surfaces of the mat, the laterally outer edges of each side wing having fastening means adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said fastening means being aligned in a direction transversely of the length of said pads so that, when the side wings are folded inwardly to overlie the center sections of the two pads, the fastening means along the edges of two of the side wings can be secured to the fastening means along the edges of the other two side wings to retain the pad folded into said compact unit, the fastening means on one pad adjacent the hinged end thereof comprising a plurality of fasteners regularly spaced in a straight line along the laterally outer edges of the side wings of said one pad and adapted to be selectively interengaged with the adjacent fastening means on the side wings of the other pad so as to retain the pads at various degrees of inclination to each other corresponding to the inclination of the backrest of a chaise lounge relative to the seat portion thereof.

2. A suntanning mat as called for in claim 1 wherein the fastening means are of the snap fastener type, the fasteners on two longitudinally aligned side wings facing upwardly relative to said reflective surface and the fasteners on the other two side wings facing downwardly whereby, when said fasteners are engaged to re tain the two pads in a position inclined to each other, the adjacent ends of the side wings on one side are in overlapping relation oppositely to the adjacent overlapping ends of the other two side wings.

3. A suntanning mat as called for in claim 1 wherein said sheet material comprises a sheet of plastic material vacuum metallized on the outer face thereof and having a protective transparent coating thereover. 

1. A suntanning mat adapted for use with a chaise lounge comprising, two readily flexible pads of the same width and of generally rectangular shape arranged end to end and hingedly interconnected along their adjacent edges, the two pads being of different lengths so that they correspond generally with the respective lengths of the backrest and seat portion of an outdoor type chaise lounge, each pad comprising an inner cushion overlaid with outer panels on the opposite faces thereof, one of the outer panels comprising a highly reflextive flexible sheet material, each pad being divided longitudinally into a center section and two side wings hingedly connected to the longitudinal edges of the center section, the two side wings of each pad having a width corresponding generally to one-half the width of the center section so that each side wing can be folded inwardly to overlie said center section and the two pads folded at their hinged connection to thereby form a compact unit having a width equivalent to generally one-half of the width of said pads, a thickness corresponding generally to four times the thickness of a pad and a length corresponding to the length of the longer of said two pads, the adjacent ends of the two side wings of each pad being normally unconnected to each other so that, when the mat is arranged on a chaise lounge provided with armrests with the reflective surfaces of the pads facing upwardly, one of the pads can be arranged to overlie the seat portion of the lounge and the other the inclined backrest with the two side wings of each pad being folded upwardly relative to the center sections thereof with their adjacent ends in overlapping relation between the armrests of the lounge whereby a person reclining on the lounge is subjected to the direct rays of the sun as well as the sun rays reflected from the reflective surfaces of the mat, the laterally outer edges of each side wing having fastening means adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said fastening means being aligned in a direction transversely of the length of said pads so that, when the side wings are folded inwardly to overlie the center sections of the two pads, the fastening means along the edges of two of the side wings can be secured to the fastening means along the edges of the other two side wings to retain the pad folded into said compact unit, the fastening means on one pad adjacent the hinged end thereof comprising a plurality of fasteners regularly spaced in a straight line along the laterally outer edges of the side wings of said one pad and adapted to be selectively interengaged with the adjacent fastening means on the side wings of the other pad so as to retain the pAds at various degrees of inclination to each other corresponding to the inclination of the backrest of a chaise lounge relative to the seat portion thereof.
 2. A suntanning mat as called for in claim 1 wherein the fastening means are of the snap fastener type, the fasteners on two longitudinally aligned side wings facing upwardly relative to said reflective surface and the fasteners on the other two side wings facing downwardly whereby, when said fasteners are engaged to retain the two pads in a position inclined to each other, the adjacent ends of the side wings on one side are in overlapping relation oppositely to the adjacent overlapping ends of the other two side wings.
 3. A suntanning mat as called for in claim 1 wherein said sheet material comprises a sheet of plastic material vacuum metallized on the outer face thereof and having a protective transparent coating thereover. 